I am a CPA in Texas with an MBA from the University of Chicago. I have seen a lot and made many mistakes. Hopefully by now I will have learned something from them. Just as importantly, you may learn something from my mistakes. You can e-mail me by clicking on my "View my complete profile".

Friday, May 22, 2009

Wait Listed by Jail-6

"When the district attorney in suburban Contra Costa County, Robert J. Kochly, announced last month that he would stop prosecuting certain misdemeanors for lack of money, the resulting outcry was enough to make him cut his own salary to avoid putting the plan in place. ... District attorneys in many parts of the country say they are considering prosecutorial rollbacks, including opting not to try some minor crimes, eliminating crime prevention and monitoring programs, and seeking to divert more defendants to so-called community court systems. The reason: not enough money to pay lawyers to try all those crimes. ... In Oregon, which faces a bulging budget deficit over the next two years, several prosecutors has said that something must give. For instance, the district attorney is Marion County, south of Portland, has cut back on prosecutions of crimes inside correctional facilities. ... In Contra Costa County, for example, Mr. Kochly startled the county Board of Supervisors when he issued a memordandum outlining a number of drug offenses--including possession of up to a gram of cocaine or metamphetamine--that would not be pursued", my emphasis, Jesse McKinley at the NYT, 9 May 2009, link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/us/09tradeoffs.html.

Economics works! Prosecutors make tradeoffs. The waiting list for jail grows daily. The drug war is moribund. Do you still want to buy muni bonds?

4 comments:

ie non-CA bondsYou'd need munis which paid something real (not a currency) to avoid the risk of being wiped out by inflation.

We are seeing the perfect setup for a wipeout in our lifetimeFirst the stock market came down, as a result there is a move to bonds (and T-bonds). Next the dollar will get hit and even more will be lost...

Anonymous:I have long said the difference between this "depression" and the last one, is which instrument will be wiped out. In the 1929-39 period, high quality bond holders did fine as prices fell and dollars increased in value. The model for our future is Germany's 1918-23 experience. Expect higher inflation.As for non-dollar denominated bonds, there are such instruments. I believe Freeport Copper & Gold has some gold denominated bonds. There are ETFs which hold silver and gold. These are really bonds denominated in silver and gold respectively.